Still extractor



Jan. 29, 1957 M. c. PRYMEK 2,779,723

STILL EXTRACTOR Filed Jan. 12, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V EN TOR.

M. C. PRYMEK STILL EXTRACTOR Jan. 29, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 12, 1953 INVENTOR. M 612972226X United States Patent STILL EXTRACTOR Milton C. Prymek, Berwyn, Ill., assignor to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application January 12, 1953, Serial No. 330,849

1 Claim. (Cl. 202-170) This invention relates to apparatus for separating maa-terials, and more particularly to apparatus for distilling carbon tetrachloride from wax mixtures.

In the preparation of ferrite mixtures to form magnetic cores, ferrite material is mixed with a wax binder dissolved in carbon tetrachloride and is ball-milled prior to the molding thereof. It is necessary to remove the carbon tetrachloride from the mixture, and, in the past, there has been no compact, inexpensive apparatus for accomplishing this.

An object of the invention is to provide new and 1mproved apparatus for separating materials.

Another object of the invention is to provide apparatus for distilling carbon tetrachloride from wax mixtures.

A further object of the invention is to provide a still into which a container may be inserted and including an agitator removable from the still.

An apparatus illustrating certain features of the invention may include a heated chamber open at the top and an agitator unitand a cover secured to the agitator unit movable to a position covering the container.

An apparatus forming a more specific embodiment of the invention may include an inner chamber open at the top and heated at the lower portion thereof, an outer chamber surrounding the upper portion of the inner chamber and cooled, and a container fitting int-o the inner chamber. A frame supports an agitator including a motor, a shaft and blades slidably between a position in which the shaft projects into the container and a position in which the entire agitator is held above the container.

The agitator also may be provided with a cover designed to engage the outer chamber to close the top of the outer chamber.

A complete understanding of the invention may be obtained from the following detailed description of an apparatus forming aspecific embodiment thereof, when read in conjunction with the appended drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a fragmentary, vertical section of an apparatus forming one embodiment of the invention, and

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, there is shown therein an agitator 11 including an electric motor 12 and a shaft 13 driven by the motor and carrying propellers 14, 15 and 16. The motor is mounted on a frame 21 supported by a cup-shaped cover 22 having a window 23 therein. An A-frame 26 welded to the cover 22 forms a portion of an elevator 27, which is supported by a wire rope 25 and may be lowered to carry the propellers into a container 28, as shown in the drawings.

When the elevator is lowered to the position shown, wing nut type clamps 29 may be manipulated to elfect a seal between flanges 30 and 31 of an outer shell 32 and the cover 22 and a gasket 33 to form a closed gap over the container 28. A limit switch 34 mounted on the flange 30 is closed by the flange 31 when the flange 31 is in engagement with the gasket 33. The switch 34 is in series with the motor 12 so that the agitator cannot be ice driven when it is lifted above its normal operating position.

The lower portion of the container 28 is surrounded by a heating coil 42 placed between the container 28 and a wall 43 of heat insulation enclosed in an outer shell 44. Steam is supplied to the coil 42 by suitable means (not shown). interposed between the upper end of the shell 44 and the outer shell 32 is a cooling coil 45 through which a suitable coolant is forced. When the propellers l5 and 16 are rotated to agitate a mixture of ferrite powder, wax and carbon tetrachloride in the container 28, the carbon tetrachloride will be heated to the vapor point and propelled up out of the container 28 by the propeller 14 and directed downwardly past the cooling coil 45 to condense the vapors which then pass as condensate along the bottom of the shell 32 to an outlet spout 46 and from the spout into a hose 47 leading to a tank (not shown) vented to the outside. The elevator 27 slides on rods 56 mounted on a post 57 by clamps 58. A slide 59 of the elevator carries concave rollers 60 which bear against the post 57 and serve to guide the elevator in its movement as do bearings 55. Compression springs 61 urge the elevator downwardly against the action of the wire rope 25 passing up over pulleys 62 mounted on crossarms 63 on the post 57 and connected to a piston 64 by an air cylinder 65 also mounted on the post by brackets 66. The post 57 is free to rotate in a floor bearing 67, whereby, after the elevator 27 is moved to its upper position, it may be swung by a handle 68 out of alignment with the container 28, as indicated in the Fig. 2. This permits the container 28, from which the carbon tetrachloride has been extracted, to be lifted out of the apparatus and a new container to be placed in the apparatus.

A stop 71 fastened rigidly to the floor bearing 67 is designed to be engaged by the lower bracket 66 to center the agitator 11 over the container 28, and the cylinder 65 may be actuated to raise the piston 64 to lower the agitator 11 while in a centered position. The container 28 has a rim portion 75 designed to fit over the wall 43 and the shell 44 to form a closed heated chamber between the container 28 and the wall 43 so that the entire container 28 and its contents are heated. A fjrustoconical deflector 78 directs the vapor to the annular chamber between the shells 32 and 44. A hose 79 connected by a coupling 80 to an adjustable valve 81 supplies air under pressure to a nozzle 82 directed into the outer portion of the container 28 offset from the stream from the propeller 14 so as to provide a continuous scavenging effect on the carbon tetrachloride vapors.

The mixture of wax, ferrites and carbon tetrachloride fills the container 28 to the level shown in the drawings so that the propellers 15 and 16 agitate the mixture to bring the lighter density carbon tetrachloride up to the top and vaporize it, the heating coil 42 heating the mixture in the container 28 to a temperature at which the carbon tetrachloride is easily vaporized, and the propeller 14 pushes the vapor into the annular condensing chamber formed by the shells 32 and 44. The carbon tetrachloride is condensed as it comes into the cool condensing chamber, and flows through the spout 46 into the vented tank (not shown).

The above-described apparatus serves to readily remove carbon tetrachloride from large batches of ferrite mixtures, and is very simple and inexpensive in construction and operation.

It is to be understood that the above-described arrangements are simply illustrative of the application of the principles of the invention. Numerous other arrangements may be readily devised by those skilled in the art which will embody the principles of the invention and fall within the spirit and scope thereof,

What is claimed is:

An ap'paratusfor separating materials, which comprises an imperforate container open at'the' top and containing a chemical material, a shell spaced from and surrounding the exterior of the container, means for heating the space between the shell and the container for vaporizing a portion of the material, an outer second shell'spac'ed from and surrounding the exterior of said first shell to form a collecting chamber, means for cooling the space in said chamber, means for guiding vapor from the container to said collection chamber to condense the vapor, a fan positioned in the upper portion of said first shell, and nozzle means positioned adjacent said fan and oifset therefrom for injecting air into contact with the vapor.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 7 Mann Sept. 13, 1892 Lehnert Aug. 13, 1907 Born July 10, 1923 Kyrides Aug. 28, 1923 Vollrath May 9, 1939 Baumgarden May 26, 1942 Cornell Sept. 8, 1942 Lea Apr. 23, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Germany Oct. 25, 1924 Italy Mar. 15, 1934 Sweden Jan. 3, 1935 France Nov. 8, 1950 France Apr. 23, 1952 

